Ikea Building Largest North American Store in Montreal

Ikea Canada has begun the expansion of one of its two stores in Montreal, which when completed in summer 2013 will be the company's largest outlet in North America with 469,694 square feet of retail space. Ikea has been undergoing something of a building boom in Canada over the past couple of years. The Swedish home furnishings giant opened a replacement store in Ottawa in December and another in Richmond, British Columbia, two weeks ago. Later this year, it will open a third replacement store in Winnipeg. When finished, the company says the new Montreal store, at 9191 Cavendish Blvd. in the suburb of Saint-Laurent, will have some 54 inspirational room settings and three full home settings as well as a restaurant that sits 600 guests and more than 1,400 parking spots. It will also have a play area for children and will feature a new Markethall layout to showcase more inspirational product presentations. Much like the new Richmond store - which is somewhat smaller at 334,000 square feet - the new Montreal unit will incorporate the latest available building technologies and should be at least 40% more energy efficient than the stores Ikea built in the early 2000s, officials said.